Hugo Boss plan celebrates reopening
In Brooklyn, Ohio, the local officials kept a news conference and celebrated at Cleveland’s Hugo Boss plant the “First suit off the line” and the return to work of nearly 200 employees after the factory was almost shut down last December.
Workers are paid less by 20 percent and some production has been cut, but they were very eager to have their jobs and benefits back. Richard Balkier, the Mayor of Brooklyn, says that he is hoping other big employers, like Key Bank and American Greetings, that take into consideration outsourcing jobs are paying attention to the meaning of the Hugo Boss celebration. Senator Sherrod Brown from the Ohio district declared at the reopening ceremony that the special event he was attending was the result of the management, workers, and public officials, which worked together to a save a plant and a community.
The reopening ceremony was attended by celebrities, lawmakers and workers that made efforts to help keep the facility open. One of them was actor Danny Glover, who helped keeping the Brooklyn plant from closing. With the new three year agreement, the company hopes that the Brooklyn plant will keep the brand globally competitive. However, the actual activity at the plant was delayed because the power went off. A lightning stroke the facility and took out the power and electricity had to run over a generator, so a number of the workers were sent home from the first day.
